Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 45.93
Liaison Gabrielle Jette
Submission Date April 13, 2022

STARS v2.2

The Catholic University of America
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.10 / 8.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions

Gross GHG emissions

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 5,028.84 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 6,492.71 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 960.48 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 2,336.49 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 384.55 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 5,989.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 9,213.76 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
Performance year Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from on-site composting 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon sold or transferred 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon sinks 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

If total performance year carbon sinks are greater than zero, provide:

A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
N/A

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 5,989.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 9,213.76 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Performance and baseline periods

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Performance year Baseline year
Start date May 1, 2019 May 1, 2016
End date April 30, 2020 April 30, 2019

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
The most recent data available for GHG emissions is FY 20 which covers the time period of 5/1/2019 to 4/30/2020. For an appropriate baseline based on STARS best practices, a baseline was used averaging the fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019 together. This covers the time period of 5/1/2016 to 4/30/2019.

Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person

Weighted campus users

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance year Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site 3,857 3,812
Number of employees resident on-site 30 18
Number of other individuals resident on-site 20 10
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 4,222 4,212
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,518 1,472
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 315 497
Weighted Campus Users 5,060.50 4,857.75

Metrics used in scoring for Part 1

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user 1.18 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
37.60

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
2,034,186 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 245,457 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 417,391 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
2,942,491 Gross square feet

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0.00 MtCO2e per square foot

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
The latest available data on GHG tracks the period May 2019 through April 2020. At Catholic U, 60% of emissions come from the hard-to-control Scope 3 emissions. 40% of emissions come from Scope 1. The University offsets 100% of its electricity use annually; therefore, Scope 2 emissions have been eliminated.
Since the University first started tracking emissions, it has reduced emissions significantly by 56% from FY 2007 to FY 2020. This due to greater efficiency in energy, the purchase of renewable energy credits, and the phase-out of harmful ozone-depleting refrigerants. Since 2007, notably, the University square footage decreased by 4% and the student population decreased by 3%.

Commuting and company travel is 68% of the total scope 3 emissions. Waste comprises another 20%. Commuting and travel emissions have held steady since 2018, while waste emissions have increased slightly since FY 2019.

Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Performance year data is FY2020 (May 2019 - April 2020). Baseline year data is the average of FY 2017-2019 (May 2016 - April 2019). Campus population data is provided for each of these time periods. Note that this data is different from that in PRE-5 due to the different performance and baseline years.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.